Insulating and cooling sleeve for beverage containers

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system and method for extending the period in which a beverage is maintained within a desired temperature range. A sleeve is described having liquid absorbing material contained therein, which liquid absorbing material provides a cooling effect on a beverage container positioned within the sleeve as it absorbs liquid. The sleeve is configured with an internal wall formed of a wicking fabric material that draws moisture from the beverage container and to the liquid absorbing material to provide such cooling effect.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to coolers for beverage containers, andmore particularly to a cooling sleeve for a beverage container whichsleeve includes a liquid absorbing material to enhance cooling of thebeverage within the container.

2. Background

Portable beverage containers, such as aluminum cans, are widely used tohold beverages in a tremendous variety of settings. For instance,consumers may drink directly from a can in a home setting while loungingin front of the television, when outside at a party, when attendingindoor or outdoor functions away from the home, when at the beach, whenboating on the water, and in many other instances in which a beverage isdesired when on-the-go without glassware. In such instances, it is oftencommon for the consumer to use an insulating sleeve to help to keep thebeverage cool as it is being consumed. Those sleeves are often formed ofa foam material that wraps around the beverage container, at leastpartially insulating the container against thermal conductivity, andthus delaying warming of the beverage (that presumably was refrigeratedbefore its placement within the sleeve) within the container as it isconsumed. As such beverage containers are often formed of aluminum,without such a sleeve, the beverage inside of the container will quicklywarm simply from the consumer's own body heat, and the warming onlyaccelerates with warm outdoor temperatures.

While a number of insulating sleeves have previously been provided todelay the warming of a beverage within a can, there is ongoing desireamong consumers to keep portable beverages as cold as possible for aslong as possible. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a coolingsleeve for a portable beverage container that is easy to use and tomanufacture, but that is capable of maintaining the beverage at a coldtemperature for a longer period than previously known insulating sleeveconstructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of prior art methodsand devices for extending the period in which a beverage is maintainedwithin a desired temperature range by providing a sleeve having liquidabsorbing material contained therein, which liquid absorbing materialprovides a cooling effect on a beverage container positioned within thesleeve as it absorbs liquid. The sleeve is configured with an internalwall formed of a wicking fabric material that draws moisture from thebeverage container and to the liquid absorbing material.

According to preferred embodiments, the invention may be used tomaintain an already cooled beverage can at a cool temperature simply byplacing the cooled beverage can into the sleeve. Further, the inventionmay be used to actively cool a beverage can by doing the same, and evenfurther actively cool the beverage can by first submerging the sleeve inwater and thereafter chilling the sleeve for a period of time, afterwhich a beverage container may be placed into the sleeve, resulting inthe sleeve actively cooling the beverage container.

According to various embodiments, the sleeve of the invention may beformed with an interior wall formed of polyester stretch, wickingfabric, and exterior wall formed of nylon or polyester fabric, and fillmaterial comprising a liquid absorbing material. The liquid absorbingmaterial may comprise a polymer, and more particularly polyacrylamidebeads that absorb a liquid such as water to form a gel, which may beused at ambient temperatures or selectively chilled or frozen to providea cooling effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features and advantages of the disclosure will become moreapparent by the following detailed description of several embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an insulating and cooling sleeve forbeverage containers in accordance with certain aspects of an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the sleeve of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a pattern for forming the sleeve of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The contents of all references cited herein are to be considered to beincorporated within this disclosure by this reference.

Disclosed is an insulating and cooling sleeve for a beverage containerthat is configured to extend the amount of time that a cooled beveragecontainer will maintain a cool temperature. The sleeve includes anexterior fabric wall, an interior wicking fabric wall, and a liquidabsorbing material between the exterior wall and the interior wall,which liquid absorbing material absorbs a liquid, such as water, toprovide a cooling effect.

FIG. 1 provides a cross-sectional view of an insulating and coolingsleeve (shown generally at 10) in accordance with certain aspects of anembodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 provides a top perspective view ofthe same cooling sleeve 10, and FIG. 3 provides a top view of coolingsleeve 10. Sleeve 10 includes an exterior wall 12 that generally formsan exterior cylinder. Exterior wall 12 is preferably formed of a durablefabric, such as a nylon or polyester fabric having a linear mass densityof fibers of between 900 and 1100 denier, and more preferably ofapproximately 1000 denier. A suitable material for such external wall 12is readily commercially available from INVISTA under the CORDURA brand.

Sleeve 10 also includes an interior wall 14 that generally forms aninterior cylinder on the inside of exterior wall 12, and is joined toexterior wall 12 at top and bottom edges of exterior wall 12 andinterior wall 14, such as by stitching seams 13, so as to define an openpocket 18 between exterior wall 12 and interior wall 14. Interior wall14 is preferably formed of moisture-wicking polyester stretch fabric. Itis important that the interior wall 14 be moisture permeable so as toallow condensation that is formed on the exterior of a containerpositioned in the sleeve to pass through interior wall 14 and into theliquid absorbing material between exterior wall 12 and interior wall 14,as will be described in greater detail below. Further, interior wall 14is preferably a stretch material so that the interior of sleeve 10 willeasily grip and hold onto a beverage container when it is placed withinsleeve 10. Many moisture-wicking polyester stretch fabrics are readilycommercially available, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art.

While not critical to the invention, a circular bottom wall 16 may beprovided which forms a base for the sleeve 10. Circular bottom wall 16may be joined to sleeve 10 such as by sewing a seam 17 along the edgesof bottom wall 16 to the bottom, outer edge of exterior wall 12.Circular bottom wall 16 is preferably formed of the same durable fabricof exterior wall 12. Optionally, a top layer (not shown) formed ofmoisture-wicking polyester stretch fabric may be joined to circularbottom wall 16 to form an additional pocket into which additional liquidabsorbing material may be provided to further increase the coolingeffect of sleeve 10.

Inside of pocket 18 is a liquid absorbing material 20 that is capable ofabsorbing a liquid, such as water, in order to provide a cooling effect.With regard to certain aspects of an embodiment of the invention, theliquid absorbing material is a polymer that absorbs water and expands inthe pocket 18 as it absorbs water. The cooling effect may be facilitatedby the non-impervious properties of interior wall 14 (which again isformed of moisture-wicking polyester stretch fabric) that permitsevaporation. When water or another liquid is absorbed by the liquidabsorbing material 20, a gel-like substance is formed within pocket 18.In certain embodiments of the invention, the liquid absorbing materialcomprises polyacrylamide beads that absorb a liquid such as water toform a gel, which may be used at ambient temperatures or selectivelychilled or frozen to provide a cooling effect. Suitable polyacrylamidebeads are commercially known as anionic polyacrylamide powder and have achemical name of copolymer of potassium acrylamide and potassiumacrylate, which beads are commercially available from JRM Chemical ofCleveland, Ohio. The beads of liquid absorbing material 20 arepreferably 1 mm to 2 mm in size and are insoluble in water, but swell inwater to a gel consistency that is many times the dry weight size. Thebead size may, however, be larger or smaller than the 1 mm to 2 mm rangein certain applications.

FIG. 4 shows a pattern for forming a sleeve 10 as shown in FIGS. 1-3.FIG. 4 shows exterior wall 12, with interior wall 14 positioned beneathexterior wall 12. Each of exterior wall 12 and interior wall 14 may beformed of rectangular sheets of their respective materials. For purposesof use with standard 12 ounce aluminum can, it has been found that arectangular sheet having a length dimension of 12¾″ and a width of 6½″is optimal, with the sheet of exterior wall 12 being joined to the sheetof interior wall 14 with seams 13 extending along the length dimensionof the sheets approximately ½″ from the edge of each sheet. Liquidabsorbing material 20 is positioned between exterior wall 12 andinterior wall 14 before the short edges of the sheets are joinedtogether to form a cylinder. Preferably, approximately 1½ teaspoons ofliquid absorbing material 20 is used between exterior wall 12 andinterior wall 14. Likewise, if bottom wall 16 is to be used, and islikewise to include liquid absorbing material 20 therein, a cylindricalpanel of approximately 4″ in diameter will be suitable for use with thepanel sheet patterns of FIG. 4, and approximately ⅛ teaspoon of liquidabsorbing material is suitable for placement within bottom wall 16.After the liquid absorbing material is placed in the pocket formed byexterior wall 12 and interior wall 14 (and optionally within the pocketformed in cylindrical base 16), the short ends of exterior wall 12 andinterior wall 14 are brought together to form a cylinder, with the endsstitched together approximately ½″ inside of each edge (in a directionperpendicular to seams 13) to seal the ends of exterior wall 12 andinterior wall 14. Cylindrical bottom 16, if included, may then bestitched to the bottom of the formed cylinder.

Optionally, an elastic band 22 may be stitched along an attachment pad24 to the interior face of interior wall 14. Elastic band 22 preferablyhas a diameter smaller than a standard 12 ounce aluminum can, and ismade of flexible, elastic material that will allow the band to stretcharound the top portion of an aluminum can placed within sleeve 10 toprovide greater stability for the can.

A sample product formed according to the above dimensions with the notedamounts of liquid absorbing material (including within bottom wall 16)was formed. Two aluminum cans that had been within a refrigerator forequal amounts of time were removed from the refrigerator, and one of thecans was placed within the sample product, while the remaining can wasleft standing alone. Within two minutes after positioning the cans, thetemperature of the can placed within the sample product was observed tofall by two degrees. Thereafter, temperature measurements were takenwith the following results:

Time Can Placed in Sample Product Stand-alone can 7:40 p.m. 40° F. 42°F. 8:13 p.m. 40° F. 50° F. 9:15 p.m. 44° F. 55° F. 4:10 a.m. 52° F. 68°F.

The above data shows a significant cooling effect provided by a sleeveconfigured as described above.

In use, in order to benefit from the cooling effect of sleeve 10, a usermay simply place a beverage container into sleeve 10, preferably throughelastic strap 22, and open the beverage can to consume the productinside. Condensation and moisture that forms on the outside of thebeverage can will be absorbed through interior wall 14 and into pocket18 and will contact liquid absorbing material 20. This will both preventa water ring from forming on a surface on which the can would be placedif not within sleeve 10 while providing the cooling effect caused bydrawing moisture off of the beverage can and into the liquid absorbingmaterial 20.

To further enhance the cooling effect of sleeve 10, sleeve 10 may besubmerged into an ice chest or other vessel filled with water and ice,and allow the sleeve 10 to rest in the vessel for 15 to 20 minutes.Sleeve 10 may then be removed from the ice chest, allowing excess waterto drain away, and then lightly squeezed to remove any additional excesswater. The beverage can may then be placed into sleeve 10 to furtherenhance the cooling effect on the beverage can.

Likewise, to even further enhance the cooling effect of sleeve 10,sleeve 10 may again be submerged in water for 15 to 20 minutes (warmwater in this case will speed the process), remove the sleeve 10 fromthe water bath, drain excess water from the sleeve 10, and again lightlysqueeze sleeve 10 to remove any additional excess water. Sleeve 10 maythen be placed into a freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, after which it maybe removed so that a beverage can may be placed into sleeve 10 to evenfurther enhance the cooling effect on the beverage can.

While the above methods of using sleeve 10 particularly describeapplications for use with an aluminum beverage can, those of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that alternate containers may likewisebe used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.For instance, when placing sleeve 10 into a freezer as describedimmediately above, a drinking glass may be placed inside of sleeve 10before it is placed into the freezer, and filled directly with abeverage when it is removed from the freezer to provide a cold drinkthat will maintain a cool temperature for an extended period.

Still further, while the forgoing applications particularly describecooling applications, it would also be possible to utilize sleeve 10 tokeep a warm beverage warm. For example, after submerging sleeve 10 intowater and draining away excess water, the sleeve 10 could be placed in amicrowave, e.g. for approximately one minute, after which a warm/hotdrink in a suitable container may be placed into sleeve 10 to extend thetime that such drink is kept warm.

The specific description herein is intended as an example only and isnot intended to limit the invention. Other embodiments falling withinthe scope of the claims herein are considered to fall equally within thescope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling sleeve comprising: an outer wall; aninner wall attached to said outer wall at so as to define a closedpocket between said outer wall and said inner wall, wherein said outerwall and said inner wall define a cylinder; and a liquid absorbingpolymer within said pocket.
 2. The cooling sleeve of claim 1, whereinsaid liquid absorbing polymer is configured to form a gel when contactedwith a liquid.
 3. The cooling sleeve of claim 2, wherein said liquidabsorbing polymer is further configured to provide a cooling effect to abeverage container positioned within said cooling sleeve when saidpolymer is contacted with a liquid.
 4. The cooling sleeve of claim 1,wherein said liquid absorbing polymer further comprises polyacrylamidebeads.
 5. The cooling sleeve of claim 4, wherein said beads are of adiameter of 1 mm to 2 mm in size.
 6. The cooling sleeve of claim 1,wherein said liquid absorbing polymer further comprises a copolymer ofpotassium acrylamide and potassium acrylate.
 7. The cooling sleeve ofclaim 1, wherein said inner wall further comprises polyester moisturewicking fabric.
 8. The cooling sleeve of claim 7, wherein said outerwall further comprises nylon or polyester fabric having a linear massdensity of fibers of approximately 1000 denier.
 9. The cooling sleeve ofclaim 1, further comprising an elastic loop attached to said inner walland having a closed loop diameter that is smaller than a diameter ofsaid cylinder.
 10. The cooling sleeve of claim 1, further comprising acircular bottom wall closing a bottom end of said cylinder.
 11. Thecooling sleeve of claim 10, wherein said bottom wall further comprises:a bottom outer wall; a bottom inner wall attached to said bottom outerwall at so as to define a bottom closed pocket between said bottom outerwall and said bottom inner wall; and a liquid absorbing polymer withinsaid bottom closed pocket.
 12. The cooling sleeve of claim 11, whereinsaid liquid absorbing polymer within said bottom closed pocket isconfigured to form a gel when contacted with a liquid.
 13. The coolingsleeve of claim 12, wherein said liquid absorbing polymer within saidbottom closed pocket is further configured to provide a cooling effectto a beverage container positioned within said cooling sleeve when saidpolymer is contacted with a liquid.
 14. The cooling sleeve of claim 11,wherein said liquid absorbing polymer within said bottom closed pocketfurther comprises polyacrylamide beads.
 15. The cooling sleeve of claim14, wherein said beads of said liquid absorbing polymer within saidbottom closed pocket are of a diameter of 1 mm to 2 mm in size.
 16. Thecooling sleeve of claim 11, wherein said liquid absorbing polymer withinsaid bottom closed pocket further comprises a copolymer of potassiumacrylamide and potassium acrylate.
 17. The cooling sleeve of claim 11,wherein said bottom inner wall further comprises polyester moisturewicking fabric.
 18. The cooling sleeve of claim 17, wherein said bottomouter wall further comprises nylon or polyester fabric having a linearmass density of fibers of approximately 1000 denier.